Principal investigator Yves Sauve and his team from the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry discovered lab models fed a high-DHA diet had 30 percent higher levels in the memory part known as the hippocampus, when compared to animal models on a regular, healthy diet.

An Indian waiter serves fish in Kolkata. AFP

"We wanted to find out how fish intake improves memory," Sauve, a medical researcher who works in the departments of physiology, ophthalmology and the Centre for Neuroscience, was quoted as saying in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.

"What we discovered is that memory cells in the hippocampus could communicate better with each other and better relay messages when DHA levels in that region of the brain were higher. This could explain why memory improves on a high-DHA diet."

Supplementing your diet with DHA, such as increasing fish intake or taking supplements, could prevent declining DHA levels in the brain as we age, said Sauve, according to an university statement.